You might not realize it, but your garage door is a pretty big part of your day-to-day activities. It lets you in and out of your home with ease and protects your vehicle and other belongings stored in your garage. Because of this, it can be pretty inconvenient when it stops working properly. You likely don’t have any spare time to waste when you’re already late to work because you’re stuck in your garage.

To help you troubleshoot the problem quickly, here are the top eight reasons why your garage door might not be working properly:

Dead batteries: This one might seem obvious, but dead batteries in the remote or transmitter are often the cause of the problem. Check to make sure any battery-operated devices still have power before calling for garage door service in McDonough, CA.

Broken tension springs: Is your garage door closing too fast? Look to see if the tension springs have snapped. Leave fixing this one to a professional, though, as it can be dangerous to handle the cables and springs.

Improperly aligned on the track: Do you hear a rubbing noise when the garage door hits a certain spot while moving? If so, your garage door might not be properly aligned on the tracks. This can become a serious safety threat if you attempt to fix it yourself, as the garage door could collapse. Contact a professional immediately.

Photo eye sensors aren’t aligned: The photo eye sensors act as an additional safety precaution. The garage door will snap open if something crosses the path of the invisible beams while the door is closing. While it’s a great safety feature, the sensors can malfunction if they’re dirty or misaligned.

Blocked sensors: A blocked sensor could be to blame if the garage door reverses while closing. Look to see if a box or trash can is blocking the connection, which would trigger the safety mechanism.

Broken torsion springs: Did you hear a loud bang before your garage door stopped opening? If so, the torsion spring is likely the culprit. The torsion spring is responsible for the majority of the lifting when opening the door. Over time, they’ll begin to wear down and eventually break. This one is pretty dangerous, so never attempt a DIY repair.

Transmitter isn’t working: There’s no need to assume there’s a ghost in your house when the garage door seems to be opening and closing on its own. Your neighbors might be running their garage door on the same frequency as yours, causing your garage door to also open when they push the button on their transmitter. Talk to a garage door repair specialist about changing the frequency to solve the problem.

Disconnect switch was hit: Garage door openers come with a disconnect switch so you can still open and close the door manually if you lose power. But enabling the switch normally can cause the garage door motor to run without any door movement. Just disable it and you’ll be good to go.